


plurality

by dadpun (TailgatesHarem)



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: ?? is this fluff?? I guess, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Movie Ending Spoilers, implied eddie/venom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-07-27 13:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16220435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TailgatesHarem/pseuds/dadpun
Summary: Riot and Drake are defeated, Anne is safe, and all seems relatively peaceful, but where does that leave Eddie? Where does that leave Venom? What does the future look like in a world where one man is no longer alone with his thoughts?Venom comforts Eddie through stress, just a self-indulgent fluff piece.NOTE: This contains spoilers for the movie ending, read ahead with caution





	1. Chapter 1

New relationships come with multitudinous caveats and clauses in print so fine the human eye cannot possible hope to read them all. Though, most aren't typically prepared for the sort of relationship that is omnipresent and saturated into the marrow of a person's being. No. No one can be ready for that sort of thing. By the way the story is going thus far, one can only imagine this relationship is one of religiosity. Nothing could be further than the truth. Sometimes an alien creature from beyond the stars is closer to your being than any deity could ever dream to be. 

_Eddie..._

"What?" The beleaguered man replied, voice ragged. 

_Need sleep._

"Then go to bed." 

_Not me. You. I don't sleep._

"Yes, I'm very aware of this, Venom," Eddie sighed, rolling over on his bed, eyes staring at the wall of his substandard apartment. The glorious golden heroes of cities got high rise apartments and adoring fans, but people don't hand you the key to city when you're a host to a pseudo-parasitic alien who likes to eat the heads off the immoral. People like Eddie Brock and Venom got the studio with paper thin walls and a budget that fit the bills and just enough for tater tots and bars of cheap waxy chocolate at the corner store. There was no fame or fortune, no lovers or friends. There was only the silence of the night and the ever talkative inner demon manifested as an overly affectionate alien. 

_We need to sleep. It hurts when you fight._

"What am I fighting? It's three in the morning and we're alone," Eddie replied aloud, thanking his stars he wasn't living with anyone who would call an institution on him. 

 _Yourself_. 

"Thanks, Dr. Phil," Eddie grumbled, sitting upright on his bed. 

Truthfully, Eddie was tired. His eyes burned from sleep deprivation and his face felt raw from night after night of restless sleep. A life lived after so much intense violence is one of recovery and Eddie was not good at self care. Anne and Dan had tried to reach out to them as nicely as friends could, but Eddie was still hurting from that abrupt break up. There were too many open wounds and not enough soft hands to heal the scars. And now, after all of the chaos, Eddie found himself inseparable from an oddly caring alien parasite. 

_Not a parasite._

Right. 

_Want to talk about it?_

"You get your talking points from a TV drama?" Eddie chuckled dryly. "What's there to talk about." 

_There seems to be a lot. Humans do not seem keen to bond with other organisms. You are alone. Others... they seem social. You don't seem like them._

"Is this an intervention or a pick-me-up because I can't tell," Brock chided back, standing and walking over to the sink for a glass of water. "No, people don't just... pick up alien creepy crawlies from the local science lab to make friends with. Can't have too many around me... us..." Eddie paused, trying to figure out who he... they... were in all of the chaos. "People get nervous around guys who talk to themselves." 

_Not your fault. People don't seem very nice to us. Is it a loss to be alone?_

The human answer would be to say yes. Eddie missed the playful banter he had with Anne and the joys he got from his job as an investigative reporter. He liked going out with friends and with lovers on dates and exploring the world without looking over his shoulder. He'd become an outcast and a target overnight. The world had become a very lonely place. 

"I don't know, pal. Guess time will only tell." 

Resigning to yet another night of sleeplessness, Eddie returned to his bed and returned to where he left off counting the spackle specks in his ceiling. He'd gotten up to 562, but he'd forgotten their placement.  _Every night forever_ , Eddie thought.  _Every night forever is going to be another night where I'm talking to myself in empty rooms._

 _You're not alone_ , Venom corrected, voice less harsh than before.  _It doesn't have to be lonely_. 

Perhaps not. Just because Eddie was cursed to a life possessed by an alien didn't mean it had to suck all the time. 

"You said you were a loser... back on your planet," Eddie said, somehow losing the filter to his words. "Do you feel less like a loser here?" 

 _Now who's being soft?_ Venom teased. 

"Answer the damn question." 

 _Hmm... I feel less like a loser with Riot gone_ , Venom replied with a gravelly chuckle.  _I think it's better being here. This planet isn't so bad._

"You've only seen a city's worth of it. There's other cities and states. There's entire countries and all sorts of weird cool natural shit you can see. It's not just San Francisco and her very angular streets and coastal views, you know." 

_Will we see those places?_

"Ah... sure. Yeah, I guess we can go places. Do... can you fly?" Eddie asked, voice rising in curiosity. 

_I came here on a space ship. Use your head._

"You're in my head, smart ass. Use yours," Eddie said with a snap. After a stern silence he broke into a soft laugh, sighing into a comfortable resting place. 

_Eddie?_

"Yes, Venom." 

_Will we see those places together?_

"Well... yeah," Eddie stammered. "I mean... It's not like you can just... go off by yourself and see it without, I don't know..." 

What did Eddie mean? Venom could pick another host at any time if they were compatible. It wasn't impossible, Eddie wasn't even the original. He'd probably not be the last, knowing how fast the others had moved. He was just a temporary pit stop on a long intergalactic journey. Likely, there's come a time when the nights were peaceful but no longer accompanied with playful banter. It would be silent. Painfully silent. 

 _I only want to see it with Eddie_. 

"Haha, don't get all soft on me now. I'm sure you'd... probably find someone stronger. Someone maybe..." Eddie trailed off, heart stung by a pang of regret. Why was he thinking this? And more importantly why did it hurt? 

 _Don't want to. I like Eddie. Don't need others_. 

Part of Eddie wanted to kick himself for being so relieved and happy at the comment. He tried to stifle the feeling of joy that filled him. They'd barely been together for longer than a few weeks but somehow the thought of being apart from Venom left Eddie with an sad, empty feeling. He'd tried to tell himself that he was just being childish or that it was the symbiote making him feel those things, but it wasn't. When Venom nearly died in the fire that took down Drake and Riot, all Eddie could think about when he hit the water was "Where is he? He can't be gone. Where is he?" He was scared and felt lonely. Part of him wanted to feel shame but the world felt very big and he very small that night. He was filled with a similar feeling tonight, but it wasn't the same as the hollow loneliness. It was the anxiety of the world pressing down against his chest and yet being something entirely unlike his former self. Eddie Brock was no longer  _just_ Eddie Brock but he wasn't entirely Venom either. He was both and neither at the same time. 

_Thinking too much. Sleep, Eddie._

"Easy for you to say. You don't need sleep." 

_No, not always. But you are hurting. Sleep is good. Are you scared?_

_"_ I'm not scared. Well... I mean it's been kind of a week dodging bullets and getting bones broken all while trying to evade capture by my ex's boyfriend and a power mad scientist. Maybe... I'm a little on edge, okay?" 

_Don't have to be. I'm here. Keep you safe. You don't have to be scared to sleep._

Eddie rolled over and stared at the wall, wondering to himself all the things ahead. How many others were like him? Did Anne feel this way when Venom possessed her? Did she feel empty when he left? Did she feel lonely? No, she had Dan. And Eddie had the alien and his thoughts. The alien who was now trying to soothe him softly to rest. It was almost working. 

"Is it like this for all of them?" 

_Who?_

"The hosts. Do they all... do all symbiotes care so much about their hosts?" 

 _No. Riot did not care about Drake. Drake was... a tool. In more ways than one_ , Venom chuckled, eliciting a smile from Eddie's lips. 

"Why do you care so much then? It's not like you have to be nice to me." 

Part of his mind wanted to verify that Eddie was simply a means to an end. He wanted to hear it out loud so that he wouldn't get his hopes up about being with Venom longer than the symbiote was keen to. Just shoot Icarus from the sun so that he learns faster. Perhaps then the fall wouldn't be so painful. 

_I like you. Want to keep you safe._

Manifesting from his pores, Eddie felt Venom's arms wrap around his chest in a soft hug. It was strange having a being hug you while being connected to you. Venom rested his jaw on Eddie's shoulder and sighed, the timbre in his voice sending a shiver through Eddie's body. It was unmistakably odd that Venom was so attached but with so little sleep and so little peace, Eddie didn't have room to question it. 

"Wait..." Eddie paused, realizing what Venom had said. "You  _like_ me? Like... are we talking like as in a friend or... like as in  _like_ like," he stammered, unable to read the emotion of the resting symbiote's face. 

_Is there a difference?_

"Yes there's a difference," the reporter said with a hike in his voice. 

_I don't know it, then. For now, I like Eddie. Don't think about it too much._

"I'm definitely going to think about that one." 

_Shh. Sleep time._

Releasing a great sigh, Eddie finally conceded. He needed sleep and the soft grip of another's arms around his body helped ground him in a peaceful ease. He didn't feel his body shake like a caffeine wired chihuahua. Instead, he felt at ease. His eyes closed softly and he began to dream about what like and  _like_ would be for him and this intimately close being. Either way, it brought peace and rest to Eddie's life. The rest were details. 


	2. Chapter 2

Since the dawn of time, human beings have been asking themselves: what does it mean to be human. Never in his life had Eddie felt so distant from a question. It had become foreign symbols on a page and nothing more. What did Eddie do with his life now that he'd lost his center? No job, no lover, no friends who could understand what was happening inside of him: Eddie was alone. He used to take joy from his job as an investigative reporter and exposing the dark truths, but now he'd become the very truths he once sought to shed light on. The world felt out of focus and very empty. Anne Weying knew this best. 

Anne knew when Eddie was unable to process something he was working through. Some days he'd just send a short text and disappear for a while. When he'd turn up Eddie wouldn't have had anything to eat in days. She'd always nag him to not forget to eat whenever he was neck deep in a project. None of them had been as serious as fusion with an alien being with a personality. As much as she worried, she felt guilty she wasn't doing more. Dan asked after him more often than she did. It was the last straw when Dan finally mentioned the concerns for Eddie's liver and other organs which the symbiotes were known to snack on when malnourished. Eddie had too soft a heart to let Venom feed rampant which risked his own safety. 

"You know," Dan had said, stirring his vegetables around on his dinner plate. "Weakened liver functions can seriously shorten the lifespan, alien friend or not." 

"Dan," Anne sighed. 

"I'm just worried as a doctor, okay?" 

Even if Dan nagged her incessantly, it wasn't what drove her to the corner store where Eddie frequented. She had just happened to be on that side of town. For... for business. Yes, it was business, she told herself. She wasn't going to check on her ex, she was simply in the area for some case she was working on as a new public defender. But now she was shopping for any manner of food that she could bring Eddie. She knew his tastes were varied and she had to be intentional with her shopping, but he'd also fuss if she bought anything too fancy. Hence the corner store. 

Bringing her basket to the counter overflowing with soup, chocolate bars, some frozen dinners, and a few bottles of gatorade. He'd stopped sweating as badly as he had when Venom had first joined with him, but Anne still worried. She wasn't quite sure how alien and human physiology worked together. 

"A night in to yourself?" Mrs. Chen joked, ringing up the items. 

"No. Buying for a friend. He's, um... he's got a bit of a bug..." Anne replied nervously. 

"You know, there's a regular who comes in here with something like that," she said coyly as she bagged the items. "Real sweet man. Puts too much on himself, though. I think he believes he's got to save the world. You know anyone like that?" 

"Yeah..." Anne said, voice trailing off. 

"Thank you. Have a good night," Ms. Chen smiled, waving to Anne as she left the store. That older woman. She couldn't have been talking about Eddie, could she? 

 

The apartment’s air had gone stale and Eddie could no longer take another nap. Having a symbiote bonded with a human body was strangely exhausting. It would be easier if you could pull up Google and demand an answer: is chronic fatigue typical of symbiote fusion or do I have a rare form of cancer and will die in two days? Only time would  tell. 

 

_ Eddie. Food.  _

“It’s still light out, we can’t just go around eating people at your whim. Swallowing heads scares people, Venom,” Eddie said with a great sigh as he resumed brushing his teeth. 

_ Don’t care. Hungry.  _

“I know. I feel it, I know. How about some more tater tots?” Eddie suggested with a boyish grin. The floating head of his symbiote gave an unamused look. “Maybe we’ll swing by Mrs. Chen’s.” 

Suddenly Venom turned to the doorway with a low grumble. He seemed attentive to something in the air Eddie was not privy to.  _ Door, Eddie _ , Venom said before seeming back through his pores into the silence. Door? What about it? 

Walking over to the door through Eddie’s sloppy apartment he really hoped it wasn’t anyone important. Maybe it was the spineless metalhead from across the hall wanting a cup of sugar. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. Eddie had hardly opened his eyes let alone made an effort to look alert when he pulled his front door open to find Anne standing their, hand raised ready to knock on his door. Seeing Anne sent a bolt of alertness up the base of the man’s spine, Eddie suddenly aware of how much of a mess he was. 

“A-Anne! What’re you… what’re you doing… here?” Eddie stammered, Anne, lowering her hand as she darted her own eyes around. 

“I was, um… I was in the neighborhood for a case. I thought I’d bring by some food,” she said, offering forward the familiar white bag with red ‘Thank You’ printed in layers out to him. “It’s nothing fancy, just some snacks from the corner store. Dan mentioned something about nutrition and recovery. Though I don't know if chocolate bars and TV dinners are going to get you the vitamins you need." 

_ You couldn't have told me it was Anne? _ Eddie hissed in his mind. 

_ Nah, _ Venom replied shortly, a low chuckle rolling through Eddie's head. 

Standing in the threshold of a guarded space and the empty hallway, Anne felt somehow unwelcome. She knew he was anxious, it showed all over his face. That had always been her favorite part about Eddie. He was the first to admit when he wasn't doing alright or when he was hurting. She'd dated many men who'd rather drown in a sea of panic before accepting they might need a life preserver. Not Eddie. He was too kind and too soft at his core to let himself drown in a world of hurt to seem strong. Besides, no one could question his strength now that Venom quite literally made him an unstoppable force of extraterrestrial power. Though, something had changed in the man she once knew. He seemed guarded and scared, as if he couldn't trust her or himself. Dan was right, she should have checked up on him sooner. 

"Can I come in? Help you put the food up?" Anne offered, face sincere. 

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he stepped away for her to enter. 

Once inside Anne could see the true state of Eddie's living. The apartment was both torn apart and yet barren. The plant that had long died on the window sill hadn't moved but the kitchen table had been pushed to the middle of the main room at an angle, only one chair beside it. The bed wasn't made and a bag of trash sat tied up near the full bag of trash in the can. And while Anne thought things didn't get much worse, the sink had become overtaken by take out containers and empty bottles of beer. 

"Sorry about, uh... well, everything," Eddie said with a nervous laugh as he closed the door. 

"Don't worry about it. You know I've seen worse," Anne teased, opening the fridge and beginning to put things away. The only things inside were a few cheap beers, some stale leftover take out, and a migraine gel pouch. There wasn't even ketchup. 

"You've seen better, too." 

Part of Anne wanted to turn on her heels and tell Eddie to snap out of it. Venom was an alien parasite and he was a grown man. He shouldn't be sulking so badly. She knew she'd never be able to understand that kind of intimate closeness with a being beyond human conventions, but Eddie was just stewing in his angst like an edgy teenage boy. She bit her bottom lip and stared into the fridge for a long time, carefully weighing her options with what she wanted to say next. Letting out a great sigh, she decided to let him have his grief. She really  _ couldn't  _ understand. She could only be as good a friend as she could. 

"I won't ask because I know you haven't been looking after yourself," Anne said, standing and looking over her shoulder at Eddie. "But... are you talking to anybody? About what happened?" 

_ She doesn't know, Eddie. Can I surprise? _

_ No. I don't want her to get too close. She could get hurt,  _ Eddie responded in his mind, face not aiding him in his attempts at a poker face. 

_ Won't hurt her. We like her, remember? She deserves to know. She thinks you're grieving. _

"No. I mean, who am I supposed to call when my alien... friend... died in a catastrophic space ship explosion? Is there even a hotline for that because I feel there shouldn't be," Eddie joked dryly, pulling the sleeve of his hoodie over his hand. Though he thought this subconscious gesture had gone unnoticed, there was little that got past Anne Weying. 

"You could talk to a grief counselor. Use a different name and context, maybe that could help," Anne pressed curiously, walking towards Eddie. 

"Why would I do that. I don't need to talk to a grief counselor," Eddie snorted in defense, darting his eyes away from Anne's gaze. 

_ Tell her, Eddie. She's onto us. _

"You'd talk to a grief counselor because you're in grief, aren't you?" She said, more firmly with another step forward and a sharp click of her heel. 

"N-no. I mean! Yes? No that's..." Eddie panicked, tripping over his own words like tied shoelaces. 

"If you're not in grief that would mean that Venom isn't actually  _ dead _ , correct Mr. Brock?" Anne said with a challenging smirk. 

" _ Correct! _ " Venom declared, his head manifesting over Eddie's shoulder. 

In complete shock both Anne and Eddie let out a panicked scream. Neither of them had gotten used to him appearing out of nowhere, especially not with that face. Venom chuckled loudly, pleased with his timed antics. Eddie slapped his chest as if the wind had been kicked out of him while Anne had jumped a good three feet back, face white as a sheet. It still baffled her that Venom had once possessed her. 

"Liar!" Anne barked, slicking some of her hair back on her head. "You told me he  _ died _ ! Dan has been worried sick about you!  _ I  _ have been worried sick about you," she said with the sort of anger that comes from love. 

"Dan asks about me?" Eddie chuckled, barely dodging a slap from Anne. 

Venom simply hovered between them both, carefully observing human interaction. He knew that Anne and Eddie were once lovers and that love is something special a person feels towards another, but Venom wasn't entirely sure if he fully understood it in his own context. It seemed nice, playfully and rewarding, but sometimes difficult. Love seemed like a challenge. Venom liked a challenge. 

"Oof, you big oaf. We've been so worried because you make this... this puppy dog face when you're upset and we didn't know how to help but  _ clearly  _ you've been having a laugh!" Anne lectured with a hand tossed up in defeat. 

_ "No, Eddie's been anxious. Hasn't been sleeping or eating. Won't let me eat. He thinks he's a bad person,"  _ Venom interjected, Eddie looking at his own personal demon with a look of true betrayal. 

"I really thought we had something. Can't tell you nothing." 

Anne, fed up to her neck with the nonsense, grabbed her phone out of her pocket and snatched a take out menu off the table. Eddie looked at her and then tried to protest, but she only gave him a sour look that simply said,  _ You owe me dinner to say the least.  _ As the hour passed and a hearty helping of Moo Shoo Pork, Lo Mein, spring rolls, rice, and crab rangoons were delivered to the apartment, the two plus one alien helper had managed to tidy up the apartment. Venom was extra helpful what with having the ability to hold and infinite number of things. 

"He's surprisingly helpful not considering the human body eating thing," Anne joked over a take out box of veggie lo mein. 

"Yeah... It's hard teaching him not all people are food," Eddie nodded back with a sheepish grin. 

" _ You two speak as if I am not right here, _ " Venom said, looking at both of them quizzically. 

Once the meal was over and Anne had ascertained Eddie wasn’t pickling in his depression she felt safe to let him be. She would tell Dan all about how this dolt was pretending to be cut up over grief when Venom hadn’t even died. She felt safer knowing he wasn’t alone. Venom was a good being to be with even if he did eat heads. Eating habits aside, she knew that as long as Eddie had Venom the two would be okay. It was better than Eddie’s usual pouting that he did on his own. 

“Be good. And I mean that for both of you, alright?” Anne said as she departed. 

“Will do,” Eddie said with a sigh. 

Though Anne had been fooled, Venom could not. Being completely one with Eddie, the symbiote could sense various changes and thoughts that crossed Eddie’s mind. He understood that when people were around Eddie made a big effort to seem okay when he wasn’t. He didn’t rest when he slept and he felt very on edge. Little brought him comfort save for the gentle yet firm embrace of Venom’s arms. It was no trouble at all to hold Eddie so that he could rest, but it made the symbiote worry what was wrong. Was it Anne leaving that made Eddie sad? No, that wasn’t it. Venom did not have the words to describe many human emotions. It was true that through symbiosis he was able to gain all knowledge Eddie had, but empathy was a difficult, fickle skill. 

The dust settling over the apartment, the world quieting down as much as San Francisco can, Eddie began to feel the stillness. When things were quiet he could feel Venom within him and the sensation was strange yet comforting. It was as if a part of him always lonely had made a friend. And with friendship came secrets and jokes, late nights talking about lives unlived by the other. Eddie grabbed a beer from his fridge, threw on a jacket over his hoodie and pushed the window of his apartment open, stepping out onto the fire escape ladder. 

_ Where are we going?  _

“To the roof. You can see some pretty cool sights up there. Figured I can’t show you the world just yet, but I can show you the bay.” 

Up on the roof the wind chill was as crisp as the breeze off the shore of the San Francisco bay. Eddie felt a shiver of cold run down his spine, pulling his jacket closer around him. 

_ Are you cold up here? We can keep you warm.  _

Without so much as a reply Venom manifested from Eddie’s body, a layer of the symbiote adding comfortable warm around Eddie’s chest. At first the sensation was met with a soft “whoa” of surprise from the reporter, but when Venom rested his jaw on Eddie’s shoulder the two settled down. It was strange, having a living, breathing other with you at all times but somehow comforting. When Venom did things like this, it felt like a nice warm hug. 

“Tell me about what we see,” Venom said, his deep voice burning the tip of Eddie’s left ear. 

“Yeah so… beyond the skyline there’s not much of the bay you can see from here. You can smell it, though. There’s a lot of light but you can see some stars if you look up,” Eddie explained, voice soft and kind. 

“The sky above is not so different here and back on the planet I am from. There are less stars and you cannot see the clusters and planets above you. Your world seems admirable, but humans seem to want to separate themselves from the universe above,” Venom replied, coaxing Eddie to look upwards and seach the sky for signs of life beyond. “Why is that?” 

“Well, I mean… on earth we’ve put money on a pedestal and all life centers around being busy like… all the time. So what we can’t see up in the sky above loses meaning,” Eddie explained, wondering what life beyond the atmosphere was like. 

The only thing Eddie truly knew about Venom was that he came from the stars above and he felt like a loser back on his home planet. The reporter knew he should ask but part of him could see and understand certain things out of context, but Venom had all the answers and Eddie knew very little. He felt like he had no walls to keep up while Venom knew all. 

“You seem very concerned with this money as well. Among other things,” Venom said with a low voice, sending a shudder down Eddie’s spine. 

“What? What other things do you think I’m concerned about? 

“You are lonely, Eddie. You feel very small and scared.” 

Though the air in the bay was cold the words Venom spoke seemed to make Eddie’s blood run colder. Was it customary on the Planet of the Symbiotes for them to be so brazen? He’d have to learn the social conventions of earth lest Eddie would waste away. 

“Beat around the bush, why don’t ya’,” Eddie said with a nervous laugh. “What makes you think that?” 

“I am with you always. I feel your feelings and know your thoughts. You think that you feel small and that we scare people. That you are not like them. You do not sleep because you are scared someone will come and take us again.” Venom’s voice was neither judging nor callous. Though the words that he spoke struck a chord in Eddie’s heart. “Does being together make you feel lonely, Eddie?” 

“What? No, I mean… you’re always here it’s not like I have a choice to feel lonely.” 

“But you do.” 

Yet Eddie does. The man let out a great sigh. What secrets could he hide from someone sharing his skin? It was about time he thought about his feelings. He’d been repressing his anxiety and fears that had been swelling within him, but who was he going to hide it from? There was no point in trying to hide it anymore. 

“Yeah… yeah I guess I feel lonely. Before we met I’d just went through a bad split with Anne. Then the whole… well with Drake and Riot… and meeting  _ you _ . It’s a lot and I guess it… it made the world like infinitely bigger but also as if I’d never seen any of it before. It’s weird. I feel like I’m an alien on my own planet.” 

“Perhaps we can be aliens on this planet together. Maybe I can help you feel less lonely. We are always together, you and I. I do not know if love is the same for symbiotes and humans, but you don’t need to be sad even though you and Anne are not together. I am here. We are here.” 

What words does one say back to such a bold statement. Eddie’s cheeks and ears burned pink from such a statement. His heart hadn’t been beating straight since Venom had boldly said “I am Venom and you are mine.” Letting out another great sight and looking over the city, Eddie felt the symbiote around his chest give him a soft hug. 

“Thanks, Venom… it’s… been a rough year,” Eddie said gratefully, giving Venom’s head a soft stroke. 

“Eddie?” Venom asked softly. 

“Yes?” 

“Can we get some food…?” 

With a laugh Eddie nodded, turning to head back to the fire escape. 

"Yeah, bud. How does tater tots sound?” 

“We should eat something  _ living _ ,” Venom said sternly, fusing back into Eddie’s body.  _ It is better for us.  _

“Yeah it’s good for  _ you  _ but it’s bad for  _ me _ . People don’t take kindly to a giant beefy monster eating strangers, you know,” Eddie said aloud, descending the fire escape. 

_ Doesn’t have to be human. Lobsters are good snacks _ . 

“I’m not doing that again. Live lobsters do not taste good.” 

_ Yes they do! Very tasty, Eddie. Please?  _

Crawling through his apartment window and back into the warm safety of his apartment, Eddie found himself bickering with the alien who shared his body. He laughed, he joked, and jabs were thrown. Venom always threw in the towel at “parasite” and that was fine. Eddie finished his beer and put the glass in the recycling, grabbing his wallet and making sure Venom was tucked away. The symbiote had taken to peeking a smaller version of himself from the collar of Eddie’s hoodies when he was able, but the man always scolded this overly curious being. It was especially bad when there was a TV screen nearby. 

Thinking about all the adventures they’d gone and on the ones they would, Eddie wondered if it was loneliness he’d been feeling. Afterall, it was kind of fun having Venom around. Life can’t be too bad with a partner all the time who knows your thoughts and brings you comfort and safety. Whether it was a feeling of camaraderie or perhaps something more romantic, Eddie could not begin to figure. Though one thing was sure: being with Venom wasn’t so lonely after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your support thus far. Unfortunately my college work load is too heavy to make this longer than two chapters. Even so, everyone's outpouring of support and kind words has been very inspiring. Thank you for making writing fun.

**Author's Note:**

> Written to: 
> 
> NFWMB - Hozier  
> Particles - Nothing But Thieves  
> I'm Losing Friends - Tanner Swift


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